The King and Queen visit Stockholm County

The King and Queen congratulate those celebrating their birthdays, aged seventy and older, at Ljuset Church in Hallunda. Photo: Leif R Jansson/Scanpix

On Saturday 4 May, The King and Queen visited Stockholm County.

The King and Queen at The Brick with investor Björn Ulvaeus, ALM Equity project manager Emeli Ljunghusen, CEO of ALM Equity Joakim Alm, County Governor Chris Heister and Michael Wolf from Swedbank, one of the project's investors.

16:38 The King and Queen were given a tour of a show apartment.

15:54 CEO of ALM Equity Joakim Alm and Björn Ulvaeus, one of the project's investors, spoke about The Brick and the ideas behind the building. In 2003, 100,000 people were waiting for housing in Stockholm. Today, the figure is 400,000. There is great demand for small, affordable housing. The aim of The Brick is to provide 300 identical apartments for young people, each 46 square metres with two rooms and a kitchen. The vision is to construct an adjacent building with another 250 smaller studio apartments. Björn Ulvaeus and Swedbank are the financial backers behind the project. Swedbank's Michael Wolf spoke about the bank's commitment to help build new housing to alleviate the shortage. The new apartments are planned to be completed within two to four years.

15:50 The King and Queen arrived at Telefonplan. 15:39 On the coach from Hallunda to Telefonplan, CEO of Stockholm Business Region Olle Zetterberg spoke about Telefonplan and LM Ericsson's operations. As Ericsson moved to Kista, Telefonplan became an increasingly creative centre, not least when the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design moved there.

The King and Queen meet children and adults in the art room at Ljuset Church. Photo: royalcourt.se

15:22 Sara Jakobsson Grip showed The King and Queen the art room, where children and adults paint pictures. The day's theme was "Before flight". 15:12 The King and Queen arrived at Ljuset Church, where they were welcomed by Priest Sara Jakobsson Grip. Ljuset Church is Botkyrka Parish's newest church, and was opened in 2004. A Coptic congregation and a Pakistani congregation also hold services here.

The King visits a workshop, where children were doing crafts after watching an animated children's film from Nigeria. Photo: royalcourt.se

14:48 On the open stage at the library, love poems were read in different languages. The library is an important meeting place in Hallunda, and has books in 50 different languages. Botkyrka Municipality currently has six libraries, but there are plans to open more.

14:38 The 7 Angels dance group, which consists of seven 13-year-old girls from Norsborg, performed traditional Indian and modern Bollywood dance. 14:33 The King and Queen arrived at Hallunda and the international book fair. The fair had been running for two days, and this was the family day. 14:30 On the coach to Folkets Hus in Hallunda and Botkyrka International Book Fair, chief librarian Margareta Berg spoke about the aim of the fair. More than a hundred different languages are spoken in Botkyrka, and many young people speak three to five languages. The book fair is arranged every other year, with the aim of highlighting the benefits of speaking different languages and promoting literature and stories from around the world. This year's theme was "Language and identity in modern-day Europe".

The King and Queen at Fittja Mosque. The mosque made history on 26 April 2013, when Sweden's first ever call to prayer was heard. Photo: royalcourt.se

14:12 The King and Queen arrived at the mosque and were welcomed by Ismail Okur, Chairman of the Islamic Cultural Association in Botkyrka, and Rabia Szengin, a member of the association. Rabia spoke about the architecture of the mosque and the various areas inside. 14:07 During the coach journey to Fittja Mosque, Sinan Baysal spoke about the mosque and its history. 13:40 At the end of lunch, The King gave a speech.

The Queen with staff from the Multicultural Centre. Photo: royalcourt.se

12:49 The King and Queen arrived at the Multicultural Centre in Fittja, where lunch was served. The centre is a municipal foundation in Botkyrka, and was founded in 1987. It is a meeting place for research and art, and the centre's content often focuses on migration and social and cultural diversity. The Queen opened the Multicultural Centre's new premises in April 2003. Find out more about the Multicultural Centre here. 12:39 Botkyrka Enterprise Manager Peter Jemtbring spoke about business developments within the municipality. 12:25 On the coach to Fittja in Botkyrka, the Multicultural Centre's Operational Manager Leif Magnusson spoke about developments in Botkyrka over the past forty years. 86,000 people live in Botkyrka, which has Sweden's second youngest municipal population. Botkyrka is Stockholm's third largest municipality, and 160 of the world's 193 nationalities are represented here. Södertörn University, which was founded in 1996, now has 13,000 students and is of great importance to Botkyrka Municipality.

11:47 On the 29th floor of the Victoria Tower, David Furendahl, CEO and founder of Screen Interaction, spoke about the company. Screen Interaction creates digital services based on interface, usability and development. The company was formed in autumn 2008, and has grown from four employees to 34.

The King and Queen are welcomed to the Victoria Tower in Kista by Sten Nordin, Finance Commissioner of the City of Stockholm, and David Furendahl, CEO of Screen Interaction. Photo: royalcourt.se

11:42 The King and Queen arrived at the Victoria Tower and were welcomed by Sten Nordin, Finance Commissioner of the City of Stockholm, and David Furendahl, CEO of Screen Interaction. 11:24 Olle Johnselius, District Director for Kista, spoke about Kista. The area takes its name from a former farmstead. In the 1960s, the entire Järvafältet area was bought by the City of Stockholm to build new residential areas. Construction of the present-day Kista began around forty years ago, as a mixed residential and professional area. Ericsson moved to Kista in the early 1980s, beginning the transition of the area into today's IT hub. An interview with County Governor Chris Heister:The King and Queen live in Stockholm County, and have already seen much of the county. How do you go about planning a day in Stockholm County? "I wanted to show how Stockholm County has developed during The King's forty years as Sweden's Head of State. Stockholm has Sweden's third biggest rural population, and consists of a large archipelago. So it felt natural to start in Norrtälje Municipality, the heart of the archipelago, and at a traditional business such as Väddö Dairy Farm. This is a traditional dairy that uses new methods to achieve profitability. We will then be travelling to Kista, which didn't even exist forty years ago! We want to show where the income of the future could come from. The new Swedes who choose to settle in the county are also part of the future, which is why I wanted to show Botkyrka. This is a municipality that has bucked many downward trends. I'm convinced that we need to take advantage of all the expertise there if the county is to continue to grow. We'll also be visiting a mosque and a church. While many churches are being deconsecrated elsewhere in Sweden, new ones are being built in Stockholm County. We'll end up at Telefonplan, which summarises the day neatly: from industrial activities to creative enterprise." 10:34 The bus left Väddö Dairy Farm and headed for Kista. County Governor Chris Heister welcomed those present and spoke about the day, which aimed to show that Stockholm County is much more than just the City of Stockholm. For example, it has Sweden's third biggest rural population. She also spoke about what had happened in the county since 1973, and about the two biggest challenges faced by the county: a shortage of housing, and inadequate infrastructure.

Elin Edlund and Jennie Linghall are cheese makers. Here, they are making Arholma, a large hard cheese. Photo: royalcourt.se

The King and Queen during the tour of the dairy. Photo: royalcourt.se

09:58 The King and Queen were given a tour of the dairy, where they saw cheese being made. Visitors are always able to see how the chesses are made. The farm also produces ice cream and milk, but its largest source of income is tourism, followed by cheese.

09:40 Hans and Yvonne Edlund spoke about Väddö Dairy Farm. They had dreamed about opening a dairy farm for many years, and in June 2005 they were able to do so.

The King and Queen at the farm café. Photo: Christine Olsson/Scanpix

09:37 At the farm café, Hans Edlund welcomed the visitors and introduced Chairman of the Municipal Executive Board Kjell Jansson, who spoke about Norrtälje and the municipality's gift to The King and Queen in connection with the visit: a bench, which will be erected in Norrtälje.

As The King and Queen arrive in Väddö, the Kasbröderna singers perform Calle Schewen's Waltz. Photo: royalcourt.se

A trip on a wagon, drawn by a tractor. Photo: Christine Olsson/Scanpix

09:21 On board a wagon drawn by a tractor, Hans Edlund — who owns and runs the farm — spoke about Väddö. The wagon is also used for popular cow safaris.

09:17 The King and Queen and County Governor Chris Heister arrived at Väddö Dairy Farm.

The programme for The King and Queen's visit on Saturday 4 May.

09:30 The King and Queen are welcomed to Stockholm County by County Governor Chris Heister. The day begins with a visit to Väddö Dairy Farm in Norrtälje Municipality. 11:30 The King and Queen arrive at Kista and walk to the Victoria Tower to visit Screen Interaction. 12:45 The King and Queen visit the Multicultural Centre in Fittja, Botkyrka. The King gives a speech. 14:10 The King and Queen visit Fittja Mosque. 14:40 The King and Queen arrive at Folkets Hus in Hallunda and Botkyrka International Book Fair. 15:15 The King and Queen visit Ljuset Church, Botkyrka Parish. 16:00 The King and Queen visit ALM Equity at Telefonplan. The day in Stockholm County concludes with dinner hosted by the County Governor at the County Governor's official residence, Tessin Palace.

County visits 2013

In connection with The King's 40th jubilee, The King and Queen will be visiting all of Sweden's 21 counties during the year.